


Let's Talk About Conflict Resolution

by radsnaggle



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, does this even qualify as angst, i dont even know if it follows canon, tbh dont even know where exactly it fits in canon, theres a lot of tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13279086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radsnaggle/pseuds/radsnaggle
Summary: Taako, Merle, and Magnus messed up. Big time. But dealing with the consequences is difficult when you internalize everything.Or, alternatively, the boys make Angus sad and, in turn, get sad, and then everyone is sad until they're not sad anymore.





	Let's Talk About Conflict Resolution

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to stress that I really don't know where this would fit in canon so if things conflict that's on me and my lack of research

“You guys don’t like me, do you, sirs?”

 

They hadn’t heard much from the boy detective over the past two weeks or so, they weren’t entirely sure—the passage of time wasn’t so cut and dry when you live on a fake moon base. The last true conversation the three adventurers had had with Angus ended with them sputtering to find the words to either confirm or deny his straightforward question. Neither one of them could saying anything but vowel sounds in a way that made it sound like some sort of house remix of a nursery rhyme for children. Angus gave a curt nod, a small smile, and walked off to gods know where when they couldn’t produce an answer. They watched him walk off with their mouths agape and eyes wide, too stunned to do anything else.

Taako was the one to break the trance-like state they were in. He cleared his throat and tentatively took a step towards their quarters. When neither of his friends objected to him leaving, he, more confidently this time, continued stepping slowly to their quarters, eventually making it to a casual walk. Merle and Magnus later found him sitting in a chair in their shared living room. Occasionally, he would cast Blink not really knowing what he thought it would solve. He burned through all of his spell slots that night. Taako spent a good portion of the next couple weeks in the training facilities, something the Director commended him on when she saw him leaving the first day he decided to spend there.

From what Magnus could tell, Taako was taking the situation incredibly hard. Harder than any time he’d seen Taako let someone down before. Taako had outright been caught in lies in front of fans of his old show and simply brushed it off. But this—this silence, this introspection—Magnus had never seen in the elf before.

By contrast, Merle seemed to be having the time of his life. The dwarf went about his business as he usually did. Almost every day he went planet-side, always returning a little happier than when he left. When he was on the base, though, he spent a lot of his time walking around the Bureau’s grounds. If anything, Merle seemed happier, friendlier. His Soulwood arm somehow seemed healthier. He even tried his hand at doing actual clerical duties for anyone who asked, regardless of their affiliation with Pan. He was a model employee. If Magnus spent enough time around Merle, he, too, felt himself becoming less burdened by the guilt he felt. Merle’s mood was infectious. No one at the Bureau could put their finger on it, but whatever it was that caused this change they liked.

Magnus wanted to feel as bad about how hurt Angus was as Taako was, knew he probably should, but he simply didn’t. That isn’t to say he was unaffected by boy’s words, quite the opposite, but Taako seemed to be in existential despair over this situation and he couldn’t muster that much emotion. That was where a majority of his guilt stemmed from, his inability to feel as deeply as his friend was. Angus’ words cut deep, he knew that and felt as much as the days passed without their chipper boy detective to reassure them. But Magnus also knew that he’d felt a lot more for a lot less and now seemed like a perfect time to be feeling whole hell of a lot. Why couldn’t he just feel _more_ for this kid’s heartache that he has caused? He stood there and actively made Angus feel less than and he couldn’t even do right by him by feeling more? That wasn’t good enough. Not by Magnus’ standards. He had to do better, _be_ better.

 

It was late when Taako bounded into their quarters. The wizard was sweating, holding an energy bar in one hand and a metal water bottle in the other. His brows furrowed while he stood in their kitchen, tapping his sneaker-clad foot. He’d taken to leaving his hat in his room while he trained, so his hair was in a high ponytail, a headband encircling his head. This struck Magnus as odd as he watched from his position at their dining table. He had never known the elf to sweat. The training he was doing must be more intensive than he previously thought.

In fact, the training he was doing was intensive, considering how he’d never trained before. Taako mostly picked things up by observing. This whole doing cardio and trial running new spells was more than he bargained for. Of course, he was as graceful as a fucking swan in the air, but what would that do if he couldn’t master spell casting. No good in being a flip wizard if you can only flip and cast cantrips. The cardio was the part that was kicking his ass. Running, vaulting over things, dodging projectiles, this is what Magnus did regularly? Gods, what type of animal was he?

Taako cocked his head to the side.

“Yeah, okay, I’m gonna shower this grime off my body and you’re gonna hunt down the old man and then we’re gonna talk about this shit-show we’ve made for ourselves.” He nodded decisively before placing his bottle on the counter and making his way to his room, quickly swallowing down his energy bar. It took the sound of Taako’s shower turning on for Magnus to scramble for his Stone of Farspeech. Merle was in the middle of imbibing Pan to bless someone’s knitting needles, but he promised he would be there soon.

“It’s Taako; that shower is going to take some time.” Merle dryly chuckled before they hung up. Unfortunately, this was New Taako and his shower was short, sweet, and to the point. If Magnus thought about it, he hadn’t actually seen Taako doing his normal, nightly moisturizing routine in a while. Gods, Magnus hadn’t really paid much attention to his friends, had he? Put that on the list of things he felt guilty about.

Taako calmly stood in place the half hour it took Merle to get back to their quarters, Magnus anxiously running his fingers over the textured fabric of the chair he was sitting on to ground himself.  It was another two minutes after Merle clambered onto the sofa before Taako began talking. Those two minutes felt like an eternity to the pair. Taako didn’t get serious like this. Taako hid behind jokes and passive aggressive spells. Straightforward talking? That wasn’t what they’ve come to expect from the elf.

“So,” Taako’s hands began to shake. “I’m just going to say it; we fucked up.” His words were slow and deliberate. He clenched his hands into fists to get them to stop shaking. “We fucked up and I don’t know how to fix it. I can’t look him the eyes. I can’t look myself in the eyes. We— _I_ —made that kid feel hated and alone. He’s a fucking kid and I deliberately hurt him and I—” Taako’s words were choked off as sob racked through his body. Dejectedly, he sat himself in their last chair, burying his head in his hands as he continued crying.

Merle fidgeted in his seat. Magnus picked some threads of fabric loose. They both couldn’t look up. It seemed like their friend needed this, needed to allow himself to cry. Looking at him at this moment felt intrusive. The only sounds in that room were Taako’s soft sobs and Magnus’ anxious picking. Distant voices sounded someone’s congratulations from somewhere in their hall. Merle cleaned his glasses, though they didn’t need to be cleaned. Noticing the destruction he was wreaking on the chair, Magnus began picking at the seams of his shirt. The pair looked like two children scolded by their parents. No one dared to move. Well, Magnus and Taako didn’t dare to move. This—whatever _this_ was—needed to happen, no matter how long they had to sit there in silence waiting for Taako to gather himself enough to continue. Merle, through sheer willpower, was finally able to look up, quickly spotting the box of tissues they kept on the end table next to the sofa. Without much finesse, Merle jumped down from the sofa, managing a three-quarter turn before Taako’s head sprang up from his hands. The dwarf stopped dead in his tracks.

“Nope, we are all going to watch me cry. You especially, Mister Everyone’s Favorite Priest.” Not his greatest moniker, but given the situation the boys let it slide. “You’ve become such a model citizen; a poster child for Pan’s priestly duties. None of this matters to you, does it? Angus thinks we hate him, and I’m not sure you don’t. Tell me, Merle, how does it feel to make a kid feel like shit?” Taako’s eyes had a sharp, pointed look in them. Magnus’ anxious picking had evolved in anxiously running his hands up and down his thighs somewhere in the middle of Taako’s accusations.

“Taako, he was just grabbing th—”

“No, no, it’s alright Mags.” Merle turned his body toward the elf. “You don’t think it eats me up seeing how I screwed up another kid? I’m a deadbeat dad to my own kids, but I’m working on it. Angus has no one but us and the Bureau, and guess what? I screwed this one up too.” A tear, then another, and soon a stream of tears were falling from his eyes. Taako wasn’t letting up, though.

“Yeah, okay, sure, so tell me again how that has anything to do with you having a fucking field day the past two weeks?”

“Taako, we’re in the same boat! I have no idea how to fix this,” Merle gave a defeated chuckle. “I figured if I could somehow just do better with this job and my kids maybe I would be better for Angus. I guess what I was trying to do in a roundabout way was restart.” Taako looked skeptical, but turned his attention to Magnus.

“And you? You’ve been pretty quiet, big guy.” Yeah, he saw this coming, but he still didn’t have the words to explain himself. How do you even explain that you feel guilty for not feeling guilty? How do you tell your best friends that yes, you care so much about this kid, but it upsets you more that you aren’t feeling more for him than how upset you are for making him feel this way?

“I—” Magnus took in a slow breath, hands clenching and unclenching by themselves. “I hurt Angus. I picked on him past the point of friendly teasing. He’s just a kid, but I did it anyway. And that is unforgivable. And I wish—” He sucked in a breath in an attempt to control a sob from coming up. “I wish I could feel worse for him, because I know I can. I’m the big softie of the group, this should feel worse. Why aren’t I feeling worse? What’s wrong with me?” It was Magnus’ turn to cry now. “This job isn’t something a kid should do. He shouldn’t have to see all this shit. The one thing we had the power to do was give him some semblance of normalcy. We were supposed to be his family.” Sobs wracked through his speech, but he managed to talk through it all.

Merle clambered back onto the couch with the box of tissues situated on his lap. A somber air filled the room. More whoops and hollers in the hall. It seemed like these people were mocking the trio with all their happiness. Gods, what a sight the three were though. Taako’s eyes were already getting puffy. Magnus, at this point, could barely get a normal breath in. Merle pulled tissue after tissue from the box with loud, dad-like blows in between. The artificial environment on the base signaled it was dusk. Dusk at the Bureau was always a sight to behold. Lucretia and Lucas got to design everything about this place, of course the vibrancy of the reds, pinks, purples, and oranges of the setting sun would be beautiful. Right now, passersby would say the bigger spectacle was the three adventurers crying through their conflict resolution. Another whoop. Another holler. Taako was at the door before the echo had even begun.

“Listen here, fuck-o’s, my friends and I are having a heartfelt fucking moment,” Taako’s jaw was clenched as he spat out the rest of his words. “If I have to listen to you banshees yell one more time, this whole base is burning down.”

From what Merle could make out, it looked like a birthday celebration. Sheepishly, they moved their party out of the dormitories. Mylar balloons trailed them sluggishly, colliding with each other as they went. Poor kids, the dwarf thought to himself. They didn’t need to be chided just for enjoying their festivities with wild abandon. Merle knew for a fact that their parties were always a little too loud, a little too rowdy. They’ve repeatedly almost fallen over the railings of the base at every party they’ve thrown. These kids were fine. A minor nuisance at best. Merle made a note in his head to visit them and apologize.

“Okay,” Taako’s back was to them as he leaned his forehead against the cool door. His shoulders sagged as he let out a breath. “Okay, does anyone have any ideas on how we should approach this situation?”

“Is there something wrong with just going up to Angus and apologizing?” Magnus’ fidgeting had stopped when Taako blew up at those birthday revelers.

“Yes, Mango, there is a problem with just apologizing,” Taako said dejectedly.

“Like what?”

“Well, like—like, well, for instance—” Taako sputtered out.

“Exactly. I get that you want to do something big—some big show of our regret to prove how sorry we are, but would Angus even want that?” Taako spun around, mouth open with a response ready. “No, Taako, he wouldn’t. If he did he probably would have made a big deal out of this whole situation. But he didn’t, did he?” A shake of his head from the elf.

Taako walked back to his seat with a huff. His hair was, well, a mess. Parts of it were dry, but the majority was still damp. Strands clung to the sides of his face and his shoulders. He had braided two chunks of hair on either side of his head, connecting them in the back of his head. They were looking worse for wear now. Too much hair flipping, Magnus supposed.

“So, big guy, we just go up and apologize? Just like that?” Magnus hummed his approval. “Merle?” He looked up. “Are you on board, too?” A cautious nod. “Then I guess we’re taking this shindig on the road.”

Taako stood up quickly and bounded to the door. When no one joined him he looked back both bewildered and annoyed. This was their plan, why weren’t they coming? Merle pointed his chin toward the clock on the wall. Taako’s eyes darted to the clock. It was getting closer to eight o’clock. Angus would be getting ready for bed. The three of them had teased him about his self-imposed bedtime on numerous occasions since they found out about it about a month into his employment at the Bureau. The wizard sighed and quickly nodded his head. He walked to his room, grabbing a blanket off the back of Magnus’ chair and wrapped himself in it as he went.

Merle clapped his hands together like a dad would clap loud enough to scare off any impending villainy from his children. Magnus gave him a confused look, shook his head, and bounded to his room. It wasn’t his bedtime—Magnus doesn’t have a bedtime, he’s a grown man—but now seemed as good a time as any to go to sleep. Besides, unlike Taako, he actually needed sleep, and given the day they apparently have planned tomorrow he will need it. Merle didn’t think twice about Magnus’ new bedtime. Honestly, he wasn’t really thinking about his friends’ behaviors much at all.

The dwarf didn’t know what he was going to do, what he was going to say tomorrow to Angus. He got lucky when his kids allowed him back in their lives. He stumbled over his words—what little he had—and his palms got so sweaty he was afraid they’d start actually dripping. He hadn’t given them much reason to believe that he wanted to do better for them, but miraculously they agreed to allow their dad back into their lives. Well, they originally had only agreed to scant hours, in the middle of the day, their mother always yards away watching over like a hawk, once a week. He hadn’t missed a week yet without sending word that he couldn’t make it. Hekuba had eventually allowed Merle visitation without her being there. Mavis eventually allowed Merle entire day trips with them.

Angus was going to see through whatever bullshit Merle was going to say, he just knew it. He did when they met on the Rockport Limited, he sure as shit would do it again while they try to apologize to him. What were they going to do if Angus didn’t allow them back into his life? What was _he_ going to do if Angus didn’t allow them back into his life?

With a shake of his head, Merle jumped off the couch and head down the hallway to his room. He’d worry about his shower in the morning. He’d worry about a lot of things in the morning. Tonight, he needed sleep, and if he wasn’t getting sleep on his own then Pan sure as shit was going to help him out.

Pan wasn’t called on that night. Merle was out like a light, snoring as loud as a fucking train.

 

The morning was rough for the three. There was a lot shuffling around and more than once Magnus ran into the walls of their living room. Not just the walls, actually. He ran into almost every piece of furniture they had, including the book shelf parallel to their sofa that contained books that Taako referred to as “nerd shit”. After picking up the fallen books, Magnus just sighed and headed to the shower hoping that it would help him wake up. By ten that morning the trio was ready and off in search of the little detective.

By chance, they bumped into the Director who said he was probably in the Bureau library as he usually was. They smiled politely in thanks. If the Director was confused as to why they all wanted to find Angus she didn’t let on.

A renewed sense of dread fell over them as they got closer and closer to the doors of the library. As with most doors in this place, it was unremarkable to look at, but they stood for a long while staring at the light grey metal of the doors anyway. A metal plaque above the door told them they were in the right place. Magnus began picking at the leather of his belt awhile before Merle cleared his throat and opened the doors. Inside, the room was filled with row after row of dark oak shelving. Torch sconces flickered with the light of enchanted fire—no heat was emitted, but it was brighter than any torch they’d seen before. The walls themselves had shelves built into them out of the same dark oak, a rolling ladder affixed onto a track right above the shelves. Artificial dust stuck to unused books and shelves. Truthfully, the room seemed out of place in their clinically sterile moon base. If they didn’t know any better, they’d assume this was like one of those pleasure chambers Jenkins made on the train.

From his low vantage point, Merle could see Angus’ little loafers kicking under a table in the back of the library. A small smile spread on his face thinking about how he does the same thing with his own short legs. Merle tapped at Magnus’ hip and pointed in the direction the kid was seated at and, with a shaky breath, he started toward the back of the library, his friends falling close behind him.

“Hi, Angus,” The curly haired detective jumped at the sound Magnus’ voice. Recovering, Angus put his bookmark carefully into his book, shutting it while he pushed it to the side. If Taako’s upside-down reading was to be trusted, Angus was reading a book on political theory.

“May we sit with you? We have some things we’d like to talk with about.” Magnus gave a gentle smile, trying to make sure the kid wasn’t feeling ambushed. He, presumably, came here a lot—Magnus didn’t want to take away whatever peace he felt here.

“Of course, sirs,” The adventurers moved like robots into their seats. “What can I do for you?” Angus adjusted his glasses, clasping his hands together on the table like this was the start to them striking up a business deal.

“Gods, okay, well, to start, we are so sorry for our behavior. We never meant for it to be anything more than friendly banter, but obviously it got out of hand.” Magnus’ brows furrowed as he stared at the table, clearing his throat before he continued. “We know that apologizing doesn’t fix what we did—nothing can fix what we did—but we hoped this would at least help rebuild our relationship.” He slowly let go of a shaky breath he had been holding.

“We need you to know that we care about you, Angus,” Taako piped in before Magnus could draw in another breath. “I need you to know that _I_ care about you. You’re like my family, little guy. Actually, no, scratch that. We’re bearing our hearts here,” The elf gave a small smile. “Somewhere in all this Bureau business you became family to me. It is more than unacceptable that I took advantage of the trust you put in me, no matter the intentions I had. I want to be able to leave this nerd cave knowing that we’re gonna work on this friendship. I’m the king of trust issues, so if that’s a no-go I don’t blame you.” A stray tear rolled down his cheek, a hand coming to swipe it away before it fell to the table.

Under the table, Taako nudged Merle’s leg.

“Oh, okay, hey, kid,” Merle tried to control his legs from continuing their nervous swinging. “Taako, Magnus, and I were supposed to be like your dads at the Bureau, right? And we—”

“Uh-uh, nope, do not put my name and fatherhood in the same sentence, old man.” Taako cut in.

“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” Merle threw a look at Taako. “We royally messed that up. And what you said really cut through to me because I have my own kids that I didn’t too well with the first go-around. I’m also like a dad in our little group, and whether you know it or not, you’re part of it now, too. I don’t want to be a screwy dad to anyone anymore.” No matter how anxious he was about this encounter last night, Merle spoke with a careful precision. His clerical duties as of late must be paying off.

“Well, I’d say you’re more like the drunken uncle, but I digress,” Magnus chuckled, lightening the somber mood at the table.

Angus giggled, a few tears forced out of his eyes as he scrunched up his face. A soft smile stayed on his face as he wiped at his eyes. The three adventurers’ hearts warmed seeing their little detective smile again. Nerves still raced through them as they hoped Angus would give them a second chance.

“You guys made me feel like I was always doing something wrong,” The trio were getting anxious. Logically, yes, of course Angus would be able to say his piece. The three were just so focused on getting their words right they didn’t even stop to think what Angus would say to them. “And since y’all saved my life—and the lives of the other passengers—on the Rockport Limited I thought that meant I was just part of your team then.” Angus produced a small pack of tissues from his pocket and pulled one out. “But your teasing never went away, so I started internalizing it.” He quickly blew his nose, bringing out a little baggy and placing the used tissue inside. “I’m glad that you recognized that your behavior was wrong. But even more than that, I’m glad that you care about me because I want so badly to be a part of your team, your family.”

Relief washed over the friends. Magnus released a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. This was good, really good. They would have to work hard to regain his trust, but Angus didn’t spurn them and that was the important part. Tears were freely falling from Taako’s eyes and he didn’t try to stop them. A loud blowing sound signaled to them that Merle had taken over Angus’ tissue pack. There was a short pause before everyone erupted in laughter.

“Way to ruin the moment, dingus,” Taako said through his laughter.

Reaching across the table, Taako pulled Angus’ hand toward his side of the table, joy evident on his face. Quickly scanning over the bracelets he had on that day, Taako slid off a bracelet he most definitely nicked off someone they fought in their travels. Taking Angus’ hand again, he tied the braided bracelet securely onto the boy’s wrist. Angus didn’t look down to inspect the bracelet, instead choosing to beam up at the wizard.


End file.
